Campaign of the Month:
August 2012

Shimring

Chains of Gond Aspect

Three exquisite intertwining chains of gold, silver and bronze that appear plaited without being attached.

The intertwined chains were first picked up by Pelius when he entered the Portal that opened up at the Anniversary Feast of Shimring in the house (Next to the Green Dragon Inn) hired by the Questors.

At that time they were draped across a stone statue of a prone Elven Prince in a dark chamber. Several diminutive forms cried with great urgency for the mighty cleric to take the chains and return through the portal, which he did.

Detect Magic cast on the chains revealed an “ever so faint” magical aura but no other properties could be determined. Pelius took ownership of the chains as the party continued on their quest into Wyrmland.

After the acquisition of the Heart of the Dracolich, the Exarch of Bahamut told the party that the chains were aspects of the Chains of Gond and that the main task of the party was to find the actual chains. These had been stolen by the evil god, Iuz and only he knows where they went. The party must recover these chains at all cost, using the Heart of the Dracolich to force a truth from the nefarious God.

Anyone wielding the Aspect of the Chains of Gond will notice that although they are NOT actually attached, they can never be separated. They are always eternally entwined and any attempt to separate them is futile as they always tangle themselves up into plaited existence. Use of tools to faciliate separation will result in the tools being disintegrated – SO PLEASE DO NOTUSEMAGICALITEMS!

Further notes on the Chains and their role in Gossamer:

These chains are the actual chains that were used by the Alliance of Lawful Gods to trap and imprison Tharizdun/ Cthulhu. After their use, they were stolen by Iuz, hoping he could use them in some way to free the Universe’s GREATEST chaotic enemy. However, they were stolen from him by Eilistrae, Dark Elf Goddess of Light and used to trap and (in her intent) destroy Vhaeraun.

Eilistraee managed to capture Vhaeraun with the chains and set him in a trap in her part of the Demonweb that she knew would eventually be destroyed by Lolth. Eilistraee set up an elaborate system of “infallable” barriers to the Dark Chamber of Seclusion, where Vhaeruan was hidden. This was guarded by many wards, and ultimately by the Good Lich, Amathus Wendyll. It was also cleverly engineered that by Eilistraee that a time loop would ensure that nobody could enter the chamber once Lolth had accelerated the state of decay to a certain point. Eilistraee had propheisied that Lolth would destroy her (Eilistraee’s previous) kingdom by use of both time (acceleration) and space (shirnking). She did not, however, predict the power of the Lady of Pain, who opened a time passage, allowing the Questors to take an aspect of the Chains of Gond, that could be activated, by going back in timespace to transfer the power at an ultimate moment! Brilliant!

When the Chains of Gond Aspect is brought into the Chamber of Dark Seclusion at the precise moment of the Gossamer Web (Eilistraee’s section of the Demonweb) being destroyed, the power of the Original Chains is transferred to the Aspect and Vhaeraun is freed. (Vhaeraun would still be destroyed if Nimrod Zamminor was not there to guide him out through the Plane of Shadow).